Pursuits
Abe’s Toast to Putin Underscores Sake Sales Push in Japan
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Farmers on Japan’s west coast will sow Nihonbare rice this year for the first time in a decade as growers around the country return to older varieties to meet demand for record sake exports.
Overseas shipments of the traditional rice-based alcohol reached an all-time high of 8.5 billion yen ($80 million) in the 10 months through October as they headed for a fourth annual gain, the latest data from the Agriculture Ministry show. Farmers from Echizen in the west will produce 1,080 metric tons in 2014, the JA-Echizen Takefu agricultural cooperative said.